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Dangote Cement launches attack on ‘re-baggers’ 16 June 2014
Nigeria: In a bid to tackle 're-bagging,' which is one of the biggest threats in the cement industry in Nigeria, Dangote Cement has launched an all-out attack on perpetrators.
In the cement industry 're-bagging' refers to the emptying of the original cement bag and refilling with a different adulterated product or commodity. Another common method is to buy cement from shops, grind it, mix it with sand and then put the adulterated commodity into a bag belonging to a reputable cement manufacturer.
Often cement makers end up bearing the brunt of customer dissatisfaction, as they believe the product is from the original source. In the case of damage associated with the product, consumers often attribute it to the firm whose bag has been used for the product.
"There are different forms of what these people are doing," said Devakumar V G Edwin, Dangote's managing director and CEO. "We have an extensive team that is spearheaded by a former police commissioner exclusively on this." According to Edwin, his team is working hard to halt bag thefts by cement plant workers, which facilitate the re-bagging business.
"We have even heard people say that they sell Dangote Cement for US$5.52 – 6.13/bag," said Edwin. "What happens is that our customers often call us and inform us of the situation. Sometimes, they tell us that we are cheating them because of the price someone tells them elsewhere. Once we get the information, we launch into action."
Turkey: Gebr. Pfeiffer SE has received another order from Bolu Cimento Sanayii A.S., Turkey. In addition to the three MPS mills that Bolu Cimento ordered in December 2013 for the Kazan, Ankara Province plant, this order will see Gebr. Pfeiffer supply an MPS 4500 BC mill for the grinding of granulated blast furnace slag, which will be set up at Bolu Province plant. The mill will be identical to the cement mill that will be installed in Kazan.
The mill is designed to reach a throughput rate of 85t/hr of slag, ground to a product fineness of 4500 - 4750cm²/g. Gebr. Pfeiffer's scope will include the core components of the mill and classifier as well as the mill gearbox. The required drawings and parts lists for the local manufacture of housing and steel parts as well as documents for quality control will also be produced and supplied.
The delivery of the mill scheduled to start at the end of 2014 and will have been completed by early 2015.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Schaefer Kalk Gmbh & Co is planning to initiate a joint manufacturing project with BFS, part of the Stanić group. The Euro30m project will be located in the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina and will generate around 150 jobs.
The entire production of the future lime plant will be exported to markets in Africa, Asia and Europe. Mostar was chosen because of its proximity to the port of Ploče in Croatia, which would facilitate the export process.
"At the moment the initiative is in the preparation phase, which includes obtaining certification on taking the test quantity of limestone," said the Mostar city authorities. "After this a trial production would take place in the BFS plants in Kresevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina."
Italcementi launches Ciments Français buyout offer 13 June 2014
France: Italcementi has announced that it will target the minority holdings of Ciments Français with a buyout bid of Euro79.5/share, excluding dividend, from 13 June - 3 July 2014. The announcement follows the receipt of regulatory clearance.
Italcementi unveiled the final offer price on 20 May 2014. The company said at the time that it held 83.83% of the share capital and 91.03% of the voting rights of Ciments Français and that its bid had a maximum total counter-value of some Euro464m.
The move is in line with a drive to increase Italcementi's capital and streamline the group's structure. It will use the proceeds from a capital hike of up to Euro500m to bankroll the recommended offer. In the event that Italcementi builds a stake of at least 95% through the tender offer, it would initiate, within three months from the completion of the bid, a squeeze-out procedure for the rest of the shares at the offer price.
India: UltraTech Cement has received the approval of the Bombay and Ahmedabad High Courts to acquire Jaypee Cement's plant in Gujarat.
UltraTech has already received the approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), shareholders and creditors to buy the 4.8Mt/yr cement plant with a 57.5MW coal-fired thermal power plant, limestone reserves for over 90 years and a captive jetty at Sewagram, Maharashtra State, for US$639m. As part of the deal, UltraTech will absorb a debt of US$614m of Jaypee Cement and issue UltraTech shares worth US$25.2m to Jaypee Associates.